Five paintings missing since World War II are being returned to Germany to their rightful owners.

The Monuments Men Foundation, an organisation dedicated to returning artworks and other cultural treasures that went missing since the end of the war, made the announcement today at a news conference at the State Department.

"The paintings on the table represent an important part of Germany's cultural heritage. They have a long history. One set was given to the German royal family as part of a dynastic marriage. The other spent the war hidden in a German potassium mine to protect it. Both sets disappeared at the end of the war and resurfaced in the United States," said Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

"Last year as a result of the George Clooney film, the Monuments Men Foundation decided to try to do something that no one had ever considered doing and that was creating an America's Most Wanted for Culture by reaching out to people throughout the United States... and asking them to locate and contact us with clues or tips or works of art... that came home during World War II," said Robert Edsel, the chair of the Monuments Men Foundation.